CRTC says “Take off, eh” to the extra 2 minutes

Its more than a little ironic that the CRTC picked this week to announce changes to the advertising rules in Canadian television broadcasting. As of September 2007, Canadian broadcasters will no longer be restricted to 12 minutes of commercial programming per hour, with as much as 14 minutes at their disposal. By September 2008, 15 [...]

A life well lived

Last night’s edition of The Hour on CBC contained the final TV interview for one of Canada’s most remarkable people. Dying of cancer, “Canada’s Conscience” June Callwood invited George into her home for a final chat with Canadian television media. It was a wonderful interview that was perhaps a bit more personal than I [...]

I was hungry, did you feed me?

I haven’t raved much about The Hour this year … I like their new format, and I continue to enjoy George’s direct style (I do wish he’d get a bit more in-depth in some cases, but in others, he does fine), but he’s fallen into the curse of excellence … the expectations are so high, [...]

Much ado about Garth

Well, it seems the last few days have been a bit interesting in Canadian politics, as much of an oxymoron as that would appear to be. But the fact is, its been nowhere near as interesting as talking heads have been trying to make it. It seems that the national media is out to paint [...]

“… numéro vingt neuf, number twenty nine …”

I wanted to make a post earlier in the week about the retirement of Ken Dryden’s #29 jersey by the Montreal Canadians, but the day of the retirement ceremony was also the day I posted my tribute to the late Gump Worsley, and on that day I felt strange about bumping Gump down the page, [...]

The Return of the Good Doctor

When the North American television industry celebrates longevity in a fictional, episodic series, shows like M*A*S*H at 11 seasons, or older ones like Red Skelton or Gunsmoke at 20 seasons end up at the top of the list, discounting “soap-opera” type daily dramas. But over in the UK, for 26 seasons from 1963-1989, Doctor [...]

The Canadian Quilt in Action

Canada’s multiculturalism is often referred to as a patchwork quilt, but its often not really clear what that actually means on the ground, in real terms. One example of what that phrase means may very well be starting on the CBC, in the guise of new sitcom, Little Mosque on the Prairie. Its always hard [...]

And now for something completely different …

With apologies to the Monty Python crew, I thought I’d switch gears a bit today and instead of writing a post as I normally do, I’d post a video I made recently as a submission to a contest for The Hour on CBC … a contest for the “Best Story Ever.” I haven’t heard back [...]

“I love you. And you. And you.” – A documentary review

I’m always a little leery before watching a mainstream documentary on polyamory, worried both that the the documentary itself might present a biased view, and/or that the examples might not be the best at explaining the poly ideals to a larger audience.  In many ways, I love You And You and You rose above both [...]

Season 3 of The Hour

The first week of the 3rd season of The Hour finished up last night, and it looks to largely be the show it was last season.  There were some changes in format over the summer, not least of which is a live studio audience (a bit strange for a new broadcast, and I’ll admit that [...]